My Life In ... Films

The eighteenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office". 

FaceBook. July-2018.

Talking to the daughter of a friend in the pub, after debating favourite music artists, I realised this post has been sitting in draft for ages. So here it is...

Following a previous meme to nominate your 10 favourite albums [My Life In ... Albums], there followed another. "Dopo la musica non potevano mancare i film ! Quelli che vi hanno fatto ridere, piangere, pensare e che potreste rivedere in ogni momento*.  Top 10 movies ! Day n. I nominate no one. 

*[After music, movies couldn't be left out! The ones that made you laugh, cry, think, and that you could watch again anytime.]

Day 1 of the 10 day challenge: The Blues Brothers.

This was the first that popped into my head as I have watched it many times and it features many quotable lines. At one point we bought the Italian version and even without subtitles I pretty much knew every line.

My favourite quote is “Elwood: It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark. And we’re wearing sunglasses. Jake: Hit it.” 

Day 2 of the 10 day challenge: Die Hard. 

Obviously a classic Christmas movie. A cracking adventure movie with some of the best smart arse wisecracks. And the inevitable Bruce Willis stained and ripped T-shirt.

My favourite quote is “No fucking shit, lady! Does it sound like I’m ordering a pizza?”.

Day 3 of the 10 day challenge: The Shawshank Redemption.

Another movie we have watched over and over. The combination of Tim Robbins quiet and meticulous patience of Job combined with the incomparable voiceover from Morgan Freeman - great combo.

Favourite quote is “I’m known to locate certain things from time to time.” 

Day 4 of the 10 day challenge: The Terminator.

Some say that Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a rare example of the sequel bettering the original. That is probably a fair judgement (see what I did there) but I did see this one first so deserves it’s slot. What I like is Arnie’s ruthless determination as the ultimate bad guy and a heroine who shows some gumption.

Favourite quote is “Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear and it absolutely will not stop… Ever, until you are dead!” 

Although an honourable mention should be given to the classic, “I’ll be back!”

Day 5 of the 10 day challenge: Back to the Future.

Another time travel movie and an absolute classic. I read that they filmed Part II and III back-to-back. The plot device of the protagonist seeing the same scene from different angles is a something I first saw way back in the early 80s at the National Film Theatre in an obscure Czechoslovak film called “Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea”. 

I have the BTTF box set, but only occasionally watch Part II and III as the original is sufficiently self-contained to stand on its own.

Favourite quote is "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 mph, you’re going to see some serious shit."

Day 6 of the 10 day challenge: The Empire Strikes Back.

I saw this when it first came out in a cinema in Leicester Square. It was a group outing organised by Maureen who rushed off to buy enough tickets for a crowd of us to go and see it together.

The scene that really knocked me out was the section set on the planet Hoth. It was so convincingly real it was like they actually filmed on location on this distant ice planet!

Favourite quote is from Yoda “No. Try not. Do… Or do not. There is no try.”

Day 7 of the 10 day challenge: Blade Runner.

A visual treat - dark cyberpunk style and futuristic design proving an inspiration for many later films.

Favourite quote just has to be Batty’s final words, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire of the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time.. Like tears in the rain... Time to die.”

Day 8 of the 10 day challenge: The Draughtsman‘s Contract.

A bit of an outlier this one I have only seen it a couple of times. The first time was at the Everyman in Hampstead in a sparsely occupied cinema and it struck me as both beautifully filmed and mysterious. It took the second viewing for me to really understand what was going on although that was secondary to the sheer visual treat.

I do not remember any quotes from the film, but looking up on IMDb one made me chuckle. "Why is that Dutchman waving his arms about? Is he homesick for windmills?"

Day 9 of the 10 day challenge: 2001: A Space Odyessy.

When this film came out my father, a die hard science-fiction fan, took us on family trip from Coventry to London to see this on first release in Leicester Square in CinemaScope with surround sound. A film that made a huge impact. Two things I remember vividly was the chattering sound of apes as they scampered off behind us in the auditorium and the scene where the hostess walks round in a hamster wheel style contraption to end upside down and it felt like the whole cinema was tilting. A very unnerving sensation on the inner ear.

Favourite quote is "Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave I’m afraid I can’t do that."

Day 10 of the 10 day challenge: The Fifth Element.

A another visual treat and an entertaining plot with a nice mix of drama and humour.

I have always liked the concept of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Going back to the ancient Greeks and popping up again in mediaeval times with the paradigm of the four humours. 

Favourite quote is “Mul-ti-pass."

Looking back on the list the heavy science-fiction bias is very apparent. Hardly surprising as my father was a keen reader of sci-fi and growing up the family bookshelves were full of titles from the golden age of science fiction and formed much of my childhood reading.

My Life in ... Theatre Programmes: The College Years

The seventeenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Recap: Over the years, I have kept just about every theatre programme for every play, dance, performance. The bankers’ box full of programs had grown over the years into two boxes and travelled with me from home to home. The vinyl collection mostly went in 2015 as part of a downsize, the theatre programs were next on the list. I looked at selling them on eBay, as many other people have done, but the effort involved and the prices they would fetch meant it just was not worth the effort. So what I did was scan them, mostly just cover page and cast list. Then off they went to the recycling bin. Exceptions were programs where I knew one of the performers or they were particularly significant productions.

Scanning old theatre programmes is like watching your life flash before your eyes but v-e-r-y slowly. 

Oxford years.

In the four years at Oxford my attendance at the arts was eclectic as is only right and proper at university with everything from Gregorian Chant to Karlheinz Stockhausen with a fair number of theatrical productions thrown in. As I am missing a number of ticket stubs and programmes I am indebted to the geeks and fans of the internet for supplementing my memory.

Oxford University Film Society (1971/1972) My introduction to many classic films including Throne of Blood, Metropolis, Casablanca and the overlong, pretentiously arty Chelsea Girls by Warhol.

Oxford University Orchestra at Oxford Town Hall (01-December-1971). Mozart, Beethoven and Walton. I do remember that one of the percussionists was a red haired biochemist called Arabella who I also saw in another, undocumented concert, playing a brass instrument - versatile lady.

Clerks of Oxenford at Magdalen College Chapel (04-March-1972). Thomas Tallis and a load of 13th century music.

Karlheinz Stockhausen at the Oxford Union (May 1972). I saw Stockhausen when he gave a talk at the Oxford Union [Part 1, Part 2 Part 3]. We were up in the balcony which is where the cheap seats were because we were on a student budget. Stockhausen looked at the almost empty stalls and invited all of us seated upstairs to come on down. So we got excellent top price seats for next to nothing.

Conduct Unbecoming at the Belgrade Theatre (16-May-1972). Well I had the programme so I must have seen it.

Hawkwind at Oxford Polythechnic (10-June-1972). We went as a group to see them and hear their new single "Silver Machine". Two things I remember from the gig were:

• The roadie doing the sound check didn't bother with "One, Two, Testing". He just went "One, One, One, ...".
• They had a large, naked lady dancing on the stage who Google informs me was Stacia.

Julius Caesar at RSC Stratford (Summer 1972). My first time seeing a young Patrick Stewart (the next was nearly 40 years later in Waiting For Godot with Sir Ian McKellen). Given the venue it would have been a family outing organised by my parents during the summer holidays. Of course back then the cast names meant nothing to me (Corin Redgrave, Margaret Tyzak, etc.) such is the wisdom of hindsight.s

BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall (26-July-1972). This was my first ever Proms with a programme of Mozart, Stravinsky and Bruckner.

• Mozart Symphony No. 38, in D major (Prague)
• Stravinsky Capriccio for piano and orchestra
• Bruckner Symphony No.3, in D minor.

Hertford College Music Society (05-November-1972). My first encounter with the lovely and ever popular "Lark Ascending" conducted by a very young Simon Rattle.

King Crimson at New Theatre (25-November-1972). We were into prog rock and bands like Yes, Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, The Bonzos. One of our group had the classic album In the Court of the Crimson King. I remember little of the actual gig but a bootleg recording is available at DMG.

Fellow student from my primary school. Catherine Bott in As You Like It at the Talisman Theatre (1972) and again in Venus and Adonis at King's College, London (1974).

 

Fellow student from my secondary school. Jane Broughton Perry in
Androcles and the Lion (1972).

 

... and Saksoon at Teddy Hall (1973).

Schola Cantorum Oxoniensis at St Edmund Hall (17-February-1973). Renaissance music, mostly 16th century.

Jesus Midsummer Ball (1973). A Commemoration ball is a formal ball held by one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in the 9th week of Trinity Term. They start late and go on to the wee small hours. I felt I could not miss out on going to one of these so I asked my friend Jane to be my guest. We saw Steeleye Span and I remember watching Magical Mystery Tour through a slightly alcoholic haze.

Plan and timetable.

Plays at Various colleges (Summer 1973). Many of the colleges had amateur dramatic groups who put on plays during the summer term when I could easily see three performances per week. There were no exams at the end of the second year so it felt like I was a liberty to study less and enjoy more.

• Androcles And The Lion - Regents Park College 
• Dom Juan - Brasenose
• Hadrian VII - Keble Collge
• Mandrogola - Magdalen
• Pericles - University College 
• Volpone - Lady Margaret Hall
• Saksoon - St Edwards
• Caravaggio Buddy - ?
• Hay Fever - Keble College
• Peer Gynt - Merton College
• Richard III - Brasenose College
• Six Characters - Jesus LMH
• The Cocktail Party - Oriel St Annes
• The Fall And Redemption Of Man - Teddy Hall
• The Flies - St Catz
• The Mad Islands - Wadham College
• The Seventh Seal - Magdalen
• Toad Of Toad Hall - Oriel College
• Venus And Adonis - Kings College

Gregorian Chant (venue and date unknown). One of the more esoteric concerts. Strange to hear Latin spoken with a pronounced American accent.

Ballet Rambert at Oxford Town Hall (date unknown). All I remember is one dance where the dancer wore a brightly coloured cloak which was repeated whipped away to reveal another colour underneath. Or I may have just imagined that.

Mayfly Festival (01-May-1974). It was a small two or three day concert in Oxpens Meadows in Oxford. I have no memorabilia but I believe I must have attended in 1974 because one of my college mates was a huge fan of Gong, Hatfield & the North and Henry Cow. and one of the acts was the Virgin All Stars comprised of members from all three bands.  

It was a lovely sunny day is about all I can remember. I also remember one of the performers saying that he rehearsed and rehearsed so that what you heard when you saw him live was as close as he could make it to the studio album. I am convinced that it was Kevin Ayers but I can find no evidence on the internet of his performing there so perhaps I imagined it was him. Or it may have been some other artist.

Kevin Ayers et al. at The Rainbow (01-June-1974). I do not have the programme but I do have the vinyl as the concert was released as an LP. It was with Pete from college plus Pete’s friend Graham. Graham lived in Greenwich where he ran GAS ((Greenwich Audio Services). He had an amphibious car and a Messerschmitt bubble car that he gave me a lift in to the concert. You whizz along with your bum just inches from the tarmac - scary! 

"The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert." [Wikipedia]

That is a fair old mix.

My Life in ... Theatre Programmes: The School Years

The seventeenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Recap: “Over the years, I have kept just about every theatre programme for every play, dance, performance. The bankers’ box full of programs had grown over the years into two boxes and travelled with me from home to home. The vinyl collection mostly went in 2015 as part of a downsize, the theatre programs were next on the list. I looked at selling them on eBay, as many other people have done, but the effort involved and the prices they would fetch meant it just was not worth the effort. So what I did was scan them, mostly just cover page and cast list . Then off they went to the recycling bin. Exceptions were programs where I knew one of the performers or they were particularly significant productions.

Scanning old theatre programmes is like watching your life flash before your eyes but v-e-r-y slowly.

I have seen things you people wouldn't believe...”

The School Years.

As a child / teenager my theatre and concert going was very much down to the beneficence of my parents, Dad specifically as the sole breadwinner growing up. I received a modest amount of pocket money just sufficient to buy myself some treats down at the sweetshop, a jamboree bag or sherbet dab. Once I reached 16 I started earning money over the summer as an archaeological digger which expanded my options.

Looking back my dad was a pretty cool dad. 

Toad of Toad Hall at the Belgrade Theatre (1961, age 9). The very first ever performance I went to as a child, age 9, was Toad of Toad Hall at the newly built Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, which made an impression on a young child not least because of the vertiginous aisles. What I did not know until many years later, when we went to see an evening with Ian McKellen was that I had seen him right at the start of his career in his role as chief weasel! 

Startime at The London Palladium (1964, age 11). I also discovered a programme from a visit to London where I saw Tommy Cooper and Cilla Black at the London Palladium in 1964. As I was 11 that must have been thanks to my dad and a trip to the big city. I remembered nothing of that trip so this programme came as a complete surprise! 

Maybe that is why I am now a big fan of Tommy Copper. 'Spoon, Jar, Jar, Spoon'.

Cilla would have been in the charts with "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and headliner Frankie Vaughan with "Hello Dolly".

The Great Siege of Kenilworth - 700th anniversary (1966, age 13). I was keen on archaeology and history in my teens. I was a regular visitor to the castle as local residents got in for free. The 700 year anniversary celebrations were right up my street. I had the original souvenir programme and recently unearthed a forgotten set of photos. 

Caesar And Cleopatra at the Belgrade Theatre (1967, age 14). My first ever Bernard Shaw play but certainly not the last. 

Mother Courage and Her Children at the Belgrade Theatre (1967, age 15). My first ever Bertolt Brecht play and not one I'd care to repeat. I remember it as tediously long and boring but then I was only 15 and probably failed to appreciate it fully.

Roy Liechtenstein at the Tate (1968, age 15). This was another trip to London to see an extensive retrospective of one of the greats of Pop Art. It made a big impression on me.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, age 15). Not theatre or music but a memorable outing nonetheless. Dad took the whole family down to London, from Kenilworth, in order to see 2001 in CinemaScope in Leicester Square. It was the IMAX of its day, with full stereophonic surround sound. I still remember the sound of the apes behind me as they ran off and the unsettling effect on the inner ear as the stewardess walked upside down.

The Magistrate at The Chichester Theatre / Moon Landing (1969, age 16). This was part of a father and son weekend away, just me and dad. We stayed in a B&B near Chichester the weekend of the first moon landing. During the day we went to see Fishbourne Roman Palace and that night stayed up late to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing live. Looking back I realise it must have been as thrilling for my dad as he was a lifelong reader of science fiction and this was history in the making. The next day we went to The Chichester Theatre to see this production starring, amongst others, Tamara Ustinov (Peter's daughter) and Alastair Sim.

Midsummer Night’s Dream at RSC Stratford (1970, age 17). Peter Brook’s production of The Dream was simply magical: the white stage set, the primary colours of the costumes, the eerie whistling noise made by the fairies whirling wind pipes.

Now we enter the zone where I had money from my summer job as an archaeological labourer and could buy my own tickets.

Isle of Wight Festival (1970, age 17). I saw some of the most famous and influential bands and acts in musical history including Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, Miles Davis, the list goes on. Sadly I remember very little. I think much of this was due to my musical illiteracy at 17. If they hadn't appeared on Top of the Pops I wouldn't know who they were and so did not appreciate who I was listening to. Full blog post: Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

Tyrannosaurus Rex at "Castle Rock" (Saturday, June 5th 1970, age 17). My first ever T.Rex gig. Full write up at Castle Rock feat. Tyrannosaurus Rex. At least I think it was my first ever Tyrannosaurus Rex concert. There was an earlier gig at Birmingham Town Hall but I have no ticket stub nor diary entry so I may have imagined being there.

Tyrannosaurus Rex at Birmingham Town Hall (Wednesday, 14th October 1970, age 18). The tickets were a very modest 10/- (ten shillings or 50p in decimal).

Incredible String Band at Birmingham Town Hall (1970?, age 18). I have no record of the exact date but it featured Licorice Mckecknie on bass. The internet suggests several possible dates but Saturday, 31 Oct 1970 is the most plausible.

Lancaster Polytechnic Arts Festival (January 1971, age 18). Curved Air featuring the lovely Sonia Christina followed by Monty Python live. A full write-up in this post: Lanchester Arts Festival 1971.

T.Rex at Birmingham Town Hall (Tuesday, 16th February 1971, age 18). I was in the orchestra gallery, unreserved seats behind the stage, so really close to the band. Also pretty close to the speakers so it was really loud.

Edgar Broughton Band, Pink Fairies, et al at Warwick University Arts Festival (March 1971, age 18). I went to the performance of Stravinsky's Mass followed by some drummer who did a 25 minute long drum solo. Later the same evening it was the turn of local group the Edgar Broughton Band featuring their hit single Out Demons Out. On the Sunday I went to see the Pink Fairies. There was no seating so the audience sat on the floor. The music was painfully loud, so much so that I had to lie flat on the floor to get some shielding from the people in front of me. 

Image courtesy of Trev Teasdel.

Then I went up to college and a whole new chapter began.

My Life In ... Theatre Programmes: Intro

The seventeenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Over the years, I had kept just about every theatre programme for every play, dance, performance event that I had attended. The bankers’ box full of programs had grown over the years into two boxes and travelled with me from home to home. 

The vinyl collection mostly went as part of the downsize, the theatre programs were next on the list. I looked at selling them on eBay, as many other people have done, but the effort involved and the prices they would fetch meant it just was not worth the effort. 

So what I did was scan them, mostly just cover page and cast list. Then off they went to the recycling bin. Exceptions were programs where I knew one of the performers or they were particularly significant productions.

Scanning old theatre programmes is like watching your life flash before your eyes but v-e-r-y slowly. 

I have seen things you people wouldn't believe...

Many performances left no trace. Some were memorable like Kate Bush at the Apollo Hammersmith (Before The Dawn) on my birthday in 2014, Rambert dancing to the music of The Rolling Stones and Madam Butterfly open air opera on Brownsea Island. And exactly how many Tom Stoppard plays have I seen? Certainly in double figures. Several starring the lovely Felicity Kendal - so that was nice.

In the end I scanned in over 220 theatre, music and dance programmes. I kept being astonished by performances I had completely forgotten such as Petula Clark *and* Honor Blackman in a production of The Sound Of Music in 1981. Amongst the forgotten surprises I was also delighted to unearth some programs for performances that I thought were lost - but more of that later.

Cast list.

A music meme a while back included the question "Who have you seen more than once?" Extending that to all the performing arts I now have several new entries. Unsurprisingly my childhood friend and soprano Catherine Bott, star of stage and radio tops the list:

• Catherine Bott, soprano (23 in total, 15 with New London Consort, 8 with various other popular beat combo)
• Ballet Rambert (8)
• Janet Smith and Dancers (8)
• London Contemporary Dance (5)
• Moving Picture Mime Show (4)
• Pilobolus Dance Theatre (3)
• Ros Burdett, soprano (3) 

Stats include: I’ve been to Sadler's Wells 17 times, seen 11 Stoppard plays, Diana Rigg 5 times. In 1983 I was a culture vulture on steroids with 31 visits to the theatre, etc. 

Other performers I have seen live on stage include:

• Donald Sinden
• Rory McGrath
• Griff Rees-Jones
• Oz Clarke
• Clive Anderson
• Patrick Stewart
• Kirsten Scott Thomas
• Fenella Fielding
• Tommy Cooper 
• Cilla Black
• Simon Rattle
• Diana Rigg 
• Frances de la Tour
• Harry H Corbett
• Terry Scott
• Wayne Sleep
• Elaine Paige
• Brian Blessed
• Bonnie Langford
• Tim Curry
• Pamela Stephenson
• Warren Mitchell
• Colin Firth
• John Gordon Sinclair 
• Frank Finlay
• Honor Blackman
• Petula Clark
• Paul Eddington
• Timothy West
• David Essex 
• Nigel Planer
• Ronnie Corbett
• Julie Covington
• Lynsey De Paul
• Rolf Harris
• Rod Hull And Emu
• Cleo Laine
• Bob Hoskins
• Margaret Tyzack
• Donald Sinden
• Elaine Stritch
• Jimmy Tarbuck
• Cilla Black
• Tommy Cooper
• Marcel Marceau
• Vanessa Redgrave
• Jonathan Pryce
• David Tennant
• Patrick Stewart
• Ian McKellen
• Ivor Cutler
• Julie Walters

So many performances that it will take several posts to do them justice. Watch this space...

My Life In ... Albums

The sixteenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Facebook. June 2018.

Music has been important in my life. Like Marcel Proust's madeleine it can evoke memories. 

There was a meme on facebook: "Day N of the 10 day challenge. These are my most influential or go to albums even if only now and then. Post a cover each day, no need to explain and nominate a person each day to do the same. Today I nominate Y."

I accepted the challenge (thank you, Tim Harris) but refused to nominate anyone.  I am where memes come to die. I considered the "no need to explain" rule stupid. Context is important. Two people can chose the same album for wildly different reasons so I am recycling this meme this time with my reasons. The albums should be in date order but this is the sequence I posted them back then.

Day 1 of the 10 day challenge. "My People Were Fair and Had Sky In their Hair... But Now They're Content To Wear Stars on Their Brows" by Tyrannosaurus Rex (1968).

I was more of a Tyrannosaurus Rex fan than a T.Rex fan. Like many I listened to John Peel's late show under the bedclothes and was introduced to many a strange musik including Tyrannosaurus Rex back in 1967. I rushed out to order this album as soon as it was announced. I continued to buy every single and album until early 1972 (Telegram Sam and Electric Warrior were my last purchases). For more detailed memories read the post My People Were Fair... 50 Years On.  Then there were the concerts, the tribute bands, the movie launch, the visit to the tree where he died and there are people I've met online and later in real life who continue to feature in my life to this day [read all Bolan blog posts]. The cover by George Underwood was a thing of mythological strangeness.

Day 2 of the 10 day challenge. "Graceland" by Paul Simon (1986).

I was introduced to this album by a colleague, Colin Williams from BIS, and it has been a staple of my playlist ever since. Nowadays I usually wait until Mary is out of the house since she reckons that she has heard it too often. According to Wikipedia "Graceland became Simon's most successful studio album and his highest-charting album in over a decade; it is estimated to have sold more than 16 million copies worldwide." Love the music, love the lyrics. My favourite lines include:

"It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts"

"Over the mountain, Down in the valley, Lives a former talk-show host, Everybody knows his name
He says there's no doubt about it, It was the myth of fingerprints, I've seen them all and man, They're all the same"

Day 3 of the 10 day challenge. "Transformer" by Lou Reed (1972).

Second year at college hanging out with Mike, Pete and Vince (aka The Walton Wastards). I have to say we were a bunch of misfits who never settled into university life but that is a longer post. The urban myth was that both images on the cover were Lou Reed himself in macho pose and dressed as a drag queen. This was indeed a myth [See Artwork]. Another album much listened to at the time and since. It painted an edgy, decadent, seedy portrait of NYC that my first visit there in the late '80s did little to dispel. 

"And the colored girls go 'Doo do doo do doo do do doo...'"

Day 4 of the 10 day challenge. "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Stratgey)" by Brian Eno (1974).

Another favourite from the college years. The Walton Wastards owned all the Roxy Music albums between us and it was natural that we would segue onto Eno's solo works. Like Roxy a feature was the clearly articulated but slightly surreal lyrics. 

"Maybe she will do a bit of spying with microcameras hidden in her hair"

"But her sense of taste is such that she'll distinguish with her tongue the subtleties a spectrograph would miss"

Day 5 of the 10 day challenge. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" by Eurythmics (1983).

It could have been any one of several Eurythmics albums but this won out. Annie Lennox is one of the great singers of our generation. I downsized my vinyl collection as space was a challenge when we moved from a house to a smaller apartment and many albums had not been played for years. As the dealer was carrying the crates to his van the bottom dropped out of one and spread the contents over the tarmac like a magician saying "pick a card". In a moment of "what would you save from a burning building?" I grabbed three Eurythmics albums (this, "Touch" and "Touch Dance").

Day 6 of the 10 day challenge. "Blonde On Blonde" by Bob Dylan (1966).

I acquired this from my brother back in the day. He never bought many albums, didn't seem to care much for music, only had half a dozen albums, this being one of them. Not sure when it changed hands, probably college era as he did not own any kind of music system. His loss is my gain as this is one of the great albums from a 20th century poet. I also acquired Elton John's "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" in the same transaction.

"But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street, And shot it full of holes"

"She takes just like a woman, yes she does, She makes love just like a woman, yes she does
And she aches just like a woman, But she breaks just like a little girl."

Day 7 of the 10 day challenge. "Hunky Dory" by David Bowie (1971).

To quote from my Desert Island Discs post: If I were to nominate my favourite album it would not be a T.Rex album which might surprise some, it would have to be Hunky Dory. Some timeless lyrics and a gentle playfulness not found in the subsequent classic albums (Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs).

"So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test"

"I was stone and he was wax, So he could scream and still relax. Unbelievable"

Day 8 of the 10 day challenge. "Visible World" by Jan Garbarek (1995).

The back story to this is that we had never heard of Jan until a few years ago but Mary’s copy of the Rough Guide to Jazz kept falling open at a page with a picture of this slightly strange looking man so she figured she had to go buy an album. The first one we bought was the haunting and evocative Visible World. Since then we have acquired several more albums and have seen him play live several times.

Day 9 of the 10 day challenge. "Fantastic" by Wham! (1983).

Pure, unadulterated pop at its finest. I like pop music, I like ’80 pop music, I like Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is, for me, the archetypical example of what a pop song should be. That and Like a Virgin by Madonna were two song that rekindled my penchant for pop music. I have all their albums but this first album is the best.

Day 10 of the 10 day challenge. "Bumpers" by Island Records (1970).

Back in the late '60s and early '70s sampler albums were a way for record labels to promote their artists through cut price compilations. I was in the middle of the sixth form halfway between O-levels and A-levels. It was an idyllic summer. This double album I bought with money from a summer job working on an archaeological dig at The Lunt Roman Fort. That was also the summer I spent two weeks digging at Portchester Castle under Prof. Barry Cunliffe. The only purchase I made as a result was the self titled Renaissance. 

Since it's my game, my rules here are two extras.

Day 11 of the 10 day challenge. "Tommy" by The Who (1969).

This is one of the albums I regret getting rid of in the downsize. As well as the music, the packing was amazing: limited edition no. 24867, gatefold sleeve, booklet with artwork and lyrics. You don't get that with a CD and definitely not with a download. I bought it from the only record shop in Kenilworth - a dark and gloomy cave presided over by a dark and gloomy woman. In those days most of the shop was given over to "proper" music i.e. classical, with a small browser box for those albums that stated "File under POP for Popular". My copy had the original price label 85/- that is to say 85 shillings or £4.25 in decimal currency. Further resonance is given to this album in that I saw The Who perform the whole album live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

Day 12 of the 10 day challenge. "No Secrets" by Carly Simons (1972).

Another purchase from my college years (a period of intensive vinyl buying). My college friends joshed me that I only bought it because I could see her nipples on the cover. In fact I have a penchant for female vocalists, so much so that my vinyl collection was sorted into four main sections: classical, collections, pop, and attractive female singers (or bands with female lead singers). The latter section obviously features Carly plus Madonna, Linda Lewis, Minnie Ripperton, Cher, Kate Bush, Maria Muldaur, Kylie and many more... Some great songs on this album.

"Well you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with some underworld spy
Or the wife of a close friend, wife of a close friend, and..."

That's enough.

Postscript [28-Dec-2025]:

Talking to the daughter of a friend in the pub, I realised that I need to clarify. These are not my favourite artists but albums. For example, Paul Simon is a fine musician, but he's not on my top 10 list of artists. That list would include Sting, Blondie, Kate Bush, Madonna and Van Morrison for starters.

My Life in ... Chocolate

The fifteenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office".

A story of The Dark Side. 

I started out on Burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff." - Just Like Tom Thumb Blues, Bob Dylan. 

They say confession is good for the soul so here goes, sometimes you just have to spill the beans (cocoa beans that is).

Wagon Wheel (Kenilworth 1960's). As a child growing up I didn't eat a lot of chocolate. Pocket money was carefully rationed and I was more likely to buy a Jamboree Bag, Flying Saucers or Sherbert Fountain. If I bought chocolate it was more biscuity fare like Wagon Wheel or Kit-Kat. 

Cadbury's Dairy Milk (Kenilworth, 1971). When I got offered a place at Hertford College, Oxford my mum splashed out and bought me a family size bar of CDM. "A pint and a half in very glass" was their slogan, now retired as it contravenes European regulations by being not metric!

Terry's All Gold. (Oxford 1975). For me it all started at college when my girlfriend at the time introduced me to Terry's All Gold. It was the first time I had ever come across a box of chocolates that was all plain, and truffle fillings. I could never look at a box of Cadbury's Roses again, milk chocolate and fondant cream fillings, yech - except maybe the purple ones with the caramel centres.

Thornton's Continental Selection (Oxford, 1977). So that was me for the next few years until the Sheffield posse started expanding their territory down south. Yes, Thornton's Chocolate Cabins opened a branch in Oxford. Well that was it, Terry's were history after I discovered Thornton's Continental Selection. At Thornton's I could pick my own mixture! "A quarter of plain, dark chocolate truffles, just start at the left and work along until the bag is full". And then I would have another quarter of all plain truffles. 

I had to have separate bags even if I bought a full pound, because opening that next bag slowed me down (a little). I realised I had it bad when I knew that you got eight truffles to the quarter, and if one was a little light they would give you a crystallised ginger stick to make up the weight.

Sainsbury's (London, 1979). Peak chocolate consumption. I spent a year working in Sainbury's head office off Stamford Street. More out of boredom and as a way of time structuring I would have a tea break every day at 10:30 and 15:30. I would pop down to the newsagents below the office and buy a bar of chocolate to go with my cuppa. The usual mass production chocolate - Kit Kat, Crunchie, Munchies, etc. not Mars Bars (too sweet), not Bounty Bar (coconut gets between my teeth). 

I read Alan Carr's EasyWay to Stop Smoking, not because I smoked (never have) but because I wanted some insight into managing addictive behaviour. An interesting read but what changed my chocolate consumption was changing jobs.

Bendick's Sporting and Military (London 1982). After I moved to London I no longer had access to my regular dealer - there was no Thornton's branch in London. So I went cruising the wild West End and there behind Oxford Street I found Bendick's. Now I knew they did after dinner mints but what I did not know (boy was I naive) was that they also did "Sporting And Military" chocolate. OK, it was not a truffle, it was a solid bar but it was 70% cocoa solids. This was the hard stuff! You could not chomp this you just had to let it rest on your tongue and slowly dissolve. Oh that bittersweet taste.

I should mention Green and Black's chocolate bar here. It too was 70% cocoa solids but it just wasn't the same.

Charbonnel et Walkers (London 1983). Then I moved to work in the City - the heart of London's financial district. Well, you have heard about these high-rolling dealers. It's true. There behind the Stock Exchange was 'Charbonnel et Walkers'. Do you remember Carlsberg's very successful advertising campaign with the slogan "Probably the best lager in the world"? No such modesty for C et W. The window display simply declared "The BEST chocolate in the World". And it probably was. Although I have to say that Thornton's fillings have the edge. 

You could tell what kind of shop it was - there were no prices in the window, always a worrying sign. And the boxes on display. Heart shaped and all pink, Laura Ashley; these looked like the kind of chocolates you bought your mistress! So in I went, into a positively Dickensian interior, deserted but for the sound of the tinkling bell my entrance had set off. From a back room appeared an immaculately dressed youth in a pinstripe suit and white gloves. I made my request for a quarter of plain truffles and back came the response I shall never forget, "Certainly, sir, with or without nuts?".

Hotel Chocolat (London 1993 - 2020). Next to Mary's hairdressers in the Strand was a branch of Hotel Chocolat so every time she had her hair done I got a goodie bag of truffles. The three for a tenner offer was particularly good as were the dessert themed flavours: Raspberry Panna Cotta, Tiramisu, Eton Mess, Carrot Cake, Rhubarb and Custard, etc.

Lily O'Brien's (Dublin c. 2004). Mary worked in Dublin on and off for three years and as she passed through the airport on the way home she would pick up a present for me of Lily O'Brien's chocolates. Pretty tasty they are too. We became aware that the Irish go mad for chocolate. In the run up to Easter the supermarket shelves are bulging with crazy quantities of Easter Eggs.

Lindt Chocolate Museum (Switzerland 2008). Mary and I went a Rhine cruise with Mary's mum. One of the stops included a side trip to the Lindt factory and museum. The shop featured chocolates not seen in their retail outlets - slabs of chocolate poured into trays to cool in a variety of interesting flavours; the dark chocolate with pink peppercorn was a first for me and excellent to boot.

Chocolab Easter Egg (Cisternino 2017). One difference between London and Cisternino is that there you actually know the name of the person who made your Easter egg - Antonietta Pinto founder of Chocolab. We've met her and she is part of the family who run Bar Fod across the piazza. Buona Pasqua.

Green and Black's (Penrith 2020 - present). Alas Penrith does not run to a specialist chocolatier but I live in hope. In the meantime we tend to go with whatever is on special offer in Booths supermarket which is usually either Green and Black's or Lindt.

My Life In ... Music Festivals

The fourteenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office".

As I was enjoying the bands at Solfest 2021 I thought to myself it is a very long time since I stood on grass in the open air listening to live music. 10 years ago I went to Cropredy and before that it would’ve been the Isle of Wight in 1970. But then I thought to myself this is a very strict definition of a music festival. They don’t all have to be a long weekend with multiple bands and accommodation in tents (unless you so choose) or even in the open air (although many are).

Thinking back I have stood in many a grassy venue under the open sky listening to a variety of bands, acts and orchestras. Some were part of a festival with a series of dates spread over several weeks, some were one off events. When I started to recall them I was amazed at how many festivals I’ve been to. These are the ones I can remember (thanks mainly to my blogging (click on the year for relevant post). 

Isle of Wight, 1970: my first and, in terms of artists, greatest ever music festival. Alas I can remember very little of it as I have written elsewhere on this blog.

Mayfly Festival, 1973 / 1974: this one I had almost forgotten about. It was a small two or three day concert in Oxpens Meadows in Oxford. I have no memorabilia but I believe I must have attended in 1974 because one of my college mates was a huge fan of Gong, Hatfield & the North and Henry Cow. and one of the acts was the Virgin All Stars comprised of members from all three bands.  

It was a lovely sunny day is about all I can remember. I also remember one of the performers saying that he rehearsed and rehearsed so that what you heard when you saw him live was as close as he could make it to the studio album. I am convinced that it was Kevin Ayers but I can find no evidence on the Internet of his performing there so perhaps I imagined it was him. Or it may have been some other artist.

Crystal Palace Bowl, 1983 / 1984 / 1985: I think of the 80s and 90s as the golden age of rock festivals, the likes of Reading and Glastonbury. I was never into those kind of events but I did attend several classical music concert series at the Crystal Palace bowl. A whole crowd of us used to go together armed with splendid picnics with different people tasked to bring different courses. Then a concert of popular classics with the last being accompanied by fireworks. Halcyon days!

Henry Wood Promenade concerts, 1972 / 1991 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016: Too many individual concerts to list. We usually booked a box for 8 and smuggled in a picnic to enjoy with friends. 

French Quarter Festival, 1998 / 2001 / 2009: this festival is a small and delightful festival held in the French Quarter, the historic heart of New Orleans. We combined this with the jazz and heritage festival in those years were the two were contiguous. Many of the acts performed on street corners in the town itself but some were in various city parks. 

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, 1998 / 2001 / 2009: some years Jazz Fest followed straight on from the French Quarter festival. Jazz Fest is held on the grassy interior of the race track and one of the best festivals ever. Through this we have discovered many fine acts such as Keb Mo, John Mooney, The Radiators, Anders Osbourne and the unique Mike West as well as better known headliners like James Taylor, Dr John and Van Morrison.

Salisbury festival, 2004 / 2006: when we lived in Ringwood Salisbury was just up the road and we only discovered this festival on the very day in 2004. We bought tickets and rushed up the road to where the festival was being held in the cathedral grounds. It is there that we were greatly entertained by Blazing Fiddles, a band comprised of Scottish and Irish Fiddlers playing some very up-tempo dances and reels.  I also had a run in with a waiter's friend which resulted in a trip to the St John’s ambulance tent to get a plaster for my sliced finger. The second visit was much less eventful!

Jazz at the Tower, 2005 / 2006: in this case the venue was the moat of the Tower of London!  The first year we saw Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and the second year we saw Al Jarreau amongst others. They had a picnic area where you could bring in your own pre-concert repast and then move round the moat to the stage. The MC was a beefeater in full uniform and it is slightly surreal to see one of them enthusiastically saying “let’s give it up for…”. Sadly this concert series appears to have been discontinued.

Hampton Court Festival, 2008 / 2009 / 2014 (twice) / 2016 / 2017: while the concerts (Bryan Ferry, Van Morrison, Tom Jones, George Benson, Curtis Stigers, Cleo Lane and John Dankworth) were on flagstones in the courtyard many of these involved a pre-concert picnic on the well manicured lawn of the palace.

Hyde Park, 1996, 2009: Legendary line-ups:

1996 - Bob Dylan, The Who, Eric Clapton. Eric played the blues, The Who played Quadrophenia, Bob murdered All Along the Watchtower with a croaky, dire rendition of one of my favourite songs.

2009 - Neil Young, Seasick Steve. We enjoyed Neil Young and were impressed by Seasick Steve who we knew nothing about. One clear memory was that it rained and Mary had to buy a plastic poncho to protect our jug of Pimm's!

London Jazz Festival (aka EFG Jazz Festival), 2007 / 2016 / 2019: Some great musicians including  John McLaughlin and Jan Garbarek (three times), the latter introducing us to the extraordinary percussionist Trilok Gurtu.

Cannizaro Park Festival, 2010: just up the road from where we lived at the time in South Wimbledon. We went to see the 60s All-Stars comprising of a number of veteran musicians from various one-hit wonder bands back in the 60s. As experienced musicians they put on a fine show.

Cropredy, 2011: now back to a real pop festival in leafy Oxfordshire near Banbury: multi day, multi artist, camping available and in a real field of grass. We were drawn to this by the appearance of Seasick Steve and discovered many fine bands all unknown to me (apart from Seasick Steve, obviously) headlined by Fairport Convention. One uniquely British tradition was a burst of seated Morris dancing lead by Richard Digance.

BluesFest London, 2013 / 2014 / 2016: This was mostly held at the Royal Albert Hall but has since moved to The O2 Arena. It falls around our wedding anniversary so for several years we made it part of our celebrations. Artists seen include: Robert Cray, Marcus Bonfanti, Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman (plus many legendary guests).

Locus festival, 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019: This is a mostly free festival in Locorotondo, Puglia, Italy over several weekends in the main square. Every year there are some payable events at outlying venues, we saw: Kamasi Washington at Mavu Masseria, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at Masseria Ferragnano, and Lauryn Hill in the local football stadium. Through Locus we discovered two avant-garde jazz bands that have joined our regular play list: Go-Go Penguin and Mammal Hands

Chicago Blues Festival, 2016: this was in a local park and included a fine lineup of artists foremost of which was the brilliant Shemekia Copeland. The whole of the concert on the Sunday evening on the main stage was a tribute to Otis Rush.

Great British Rock and Blues Festival, 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020: Held at Butlins, in Skegness, in January it can get a bit chilly but the music is excellent. The GBR&B Festival has turned into a regular event where we discovered all manner of talented performers, some new, some old-timers: Catfish, Rebecca Downes, Elles Bailey, Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Mud Morganfield, Climax Blues Band, Lucky Peterson, the list goes goes on...

Solfest, 2021: Just up the road from our new home in Cumbria, near the Solway Firth. That brings this right up to date and the festival that started this reminiscence. For us the best band was Dutty Moonshine Big Band featuring my nephew, Chris Hutchinson-Mogg, on drums. 

Music - better than a Madeleine dipped in tea.